I have been to Korea
twice before for Martial Arts. Once was in 1998 and once again in 1999.
Training in Korea is much more intense because we usually train in sports
universities where students major in a sport (for example, you can get a
Masters Degree in Taekwondo). Students in such a program would workout eight
hours a day.
The flight was leaving at one pm. Randy (who was not going)
took me to the airport in the morning, where we met up with the rest of
the group. Most of the group were from UC Martial Arts, but there was a
handful of people from other schools, including some from out of state.
The group from UC Martial Arts was split about 50-50 between
Hankido and Taekwondo.
It was a 12-hour flight. I got to sit next to James Gill who kept me
very entertained throughout the flight. I think he was even better than
me at twirling napkins. Notice that he could twirl two at once! Some people
slept through the whole flight. Others (like me and James) were much too
hyped to sleep. With so many people in the group, there was always someone
to visit.
When we arrived in Seoul, members of "host" families met us at the airport.
For this part of our trip, we were split up into groups of two or three, each
group staying with a family from Chosun University. Sterling and I were grouped
together and the girl from our host family, Jung Ga Young, took us to her
house, where we had a late dinner of kimchee.
|
|
